The Cropwalker - Volume 4 Issue 15

Always read and follow label directions.

To become a member and receive all issues, sign up at: https://www.getrevue.co/profile/Cropwalker/members

After becoming a member, you can view past members only issues at newsletter.fieldwalker.ca, plus any future issues will be emailed directly to your inbox. Issues with a blue star indicate that they are member's only, just enter your email address on the issue, and it will be sent to your inbox.

Spam Filters

Please ensure  the Cropwalker newsletter is added to your safe sender list or add cropwalker@getrevue.co to your email contacts. There are a few email providers blocking the newsletter. If you missed getting a past issue, you can send it yourself at newsletter.fieldwalker.ca.

Crop Conditions

Weather Based on Growing Degree Days we are significantly ahead of 9-year average. Current cool weather will slow us down and get closer to long term averages. Ground generally too wet across Ontario to do much field work. Lots of snow April 21 Winter wheat earliest fields in the south have herbicide applied. In western Ontario wheat is almost ready for weed control. Looks like weather will not allow herbicides to be applied until next week. We like to have weed control by stage 30-32. (at 32, 2 nodes are detectable). Wheat spraying considerations (see below). Forages some new seedings in the ground. Some older stands are showing their age. If you have a thin stand, consider seeding annual rye grass to fill in. Corn and soybean planting really nothing done yet other than a few acres or growers setting up planters. Once ground is fit corn soybeans, spring grain and new seedings will all start at the same time. Do not think about soil temperature if ground is fit.

Articles

Spraying winter wheat

In earlier articles we listed programs. The 3X3 rule is a good guideline. You need 3 days before and 3 days after where temperature does not get below 3 degrees. Might be hard to get to in some cases. For herbicides to be effective both weeds and wheat needs to be actively growing. The weeds actively growing so they can take up herbicides, and wheat so that it can break down the herbicide. You may have to apply when wheat is not as actively growing as you would like. In those cases, spraying in the middle of a sunny day should help. Tank mixes the surfactants in some herbicides can affect wheat. Generally, if it safe to spray a fungicide and an herbicide it is safe to tank mix herbicide, fungicide, and plant growth regulator (PGR). For the PGR Moddus Syngenta wants 20 gallons of water.

Manipulator PGR by Belchim

Notes from Bill Norman, Belchim

Manipulator has a wide window of application from before GS 30 – 39 or early flag leaf.  A split application is also very effective half at herbicide timing and half at T1.5 fungicide timing.

We support tank mix with an herbicide or a fungicide if timing fits.  We do not recommend all three at one time, we feel the surfactant load etc. causes some leaf tip burn sometimes.   Having said that I know lots of C/A and farmers that have done the 3 way and not had unacceptable leaf burn, if temperature does not get too cold.

Benefits of Weed Control in Winter Wheat

Dr Peter Sikkema summarized his winter wheat weed control trials. Where he had some weeds 8 out of 10 times, he had a yield increase by controlling weeds. Of these 6 out of 10 had an economic response. This was older research. Probably now with more no till wheat, controlling weeds will give a better economic response. Other benefits include, easier harvest and fewer weed seeds being returned to the soil, especially of hard to control glyphosate resistant weeds, if you applied a preharvest herbicide in soybeans, and weed control last fall you may not need weed control.

Q, Can I do a 4-way tank mix with a foliar manganese product.

Ans from Chad Mangan NutriAg Hey Pat,

I have had a lot of questions about that lately. We have several dealers who have used herbicide, fungicide, ManZinPhos and Manipulator together with no issues. Not 100% what the chem companies say about it but we are comfortable both with tank mix compatibility and efficacy with those mixes.

Chad Mangan, CCA-ON

Area Manager – North East

NutriAg Group

C: 613-561-3307

Q. What foliar fertilizer manganese products can I use on winter wheat?

Ans From Chad Mangan NutriAg

ManZinPhos contains N 6% P 20% K 5% Mn 3.0% S 1.8% Zn 1.0% and is applied at 1.0L/ac.

(The information in this document has been provided in good faith. There are no warranties, expressed or implied, including any warranty of fitness or accuracy. The manufacturer assumes no liability if any issues arise. Trademarks within this document are of NutriAg Ltd. unless otherwise stated © 2021 NutriAg Ltd. For distribution in Canada.

Call us (416) 636-1555 or visit nutriag.com)

Where to use Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs)

1.     Fields where lodging is historically a concern, such as heavily manure fields.

2.     Tall varieties with poor stalk strength such as some soft white wheat varieties.

3.     Any field where you are really pushing for yield with high N rates.

4.     Excessive seeding rates/tillering on early planted field

5.     Spring cereals which are more prone to lodging. Probably all oat fields. Check product registration.

Laudis - Post Emergent Corn Herbicide by Bayer

This is a new registration.” Laudis is now registered for field corn up to the 8-leaf stage. Laudis controls common lamb’s quarters, velvetleaf, Canada fleabane, red root pigweed, common and giant ragweed, wild buckwheat, and suppression of green and giant foxtail up to 2 tillers. Laudis + atrazine controls water hemp up to 6-leaf stage. The active is a Group 27 (Tembotrione). It has several registered tank mixes.

Q - Acuron as a burndown

Hey Jonathan and Pat, Thanks for another great newsletter.

Have you looked at Acuron as a burndown product in corn? Lots of growers happy with Acuron + Glyphosate to get the job done (I have seen good burndown on fleabane, other winter annuals, annual blue grass etc.). I had a grower call me once to show me Acuron applied alone (no glyphosate) and how impressed they were with the burndown properties. (I thought I was being called out to a respray!) Always nice to get a call when a customer is extremely happy with a products performance. OF course, crop safety with Acuron is also excellent….

Answer – When I made the burndown list, it was with the intention of controlling weeds that tillage is not effective on. Acuron is a great product, and I do recommend it when it fits. However, I did not include it in this specific list, as many corn growers want the option to do tillage post burndown. And Acuron is not registered for a pre-plant incorporate type application.

Fungicide Priaxor on alfalfa

To my knowledge Priaxor is the only fungicide registered on alfalfa that will be fed to livestock. According to BASF “Tangible benefits include 10-20% yield increase in 1st cut, and our data shows an average of 10-15% for later cuts, however this is variable depending on rainfall and growing conditions. This yield increase translates as Dry Matter; in other words, the producer is not hauling more water off the field. If applying in advance of 2nd and/or 3rd cut, protein increases of 0.3-0.5% are common, due to higher alfalfa/lower grass content, and increased solar radiation as these crops grow on either side of the Summer Solstice.”

Dr Bob Neilson Purdue on corn planting April 16, 2021

Uniform and adequate soil moisture at seeding depth is important for assuring rapid and uniform germination of a newly planted corn crop. Take time to assess soil moisture at your selected seed depth on the day of planting. If soil moisture is not available, or unevenly available at your normal seeding depth, then consider planting deeper than normal if soil moisture is available at those deeper settings.

Choice of seeding depth for corn is often paid scant attention by growers during the rush of planting their crop. Human nature being what it is, we tend to simply leave the planter’s depth control setting at the same position as it was in previous years. While it is true that a seeding depth of 1.5 to 2 inches is an all-purpose range that works well in most situations, certain conditions merit more attention to seeding depth, the most common factor being soil moisture.

Imbibition of soil moisture by the newly planted seed occurs with the first 24 to 48 hours after planting (Nielsen, 2020a). Therefore, adequate soil moisture at seed depth (not too wet, not too dry) during those first 48 hours helps ensure rapid germination of the seed. If the soil at seed depth is excessively dry, the seed will remain inert until moisture is replenished. If soil moisture is excessive at the seed depth (e.g., saturated), the seeds may die and rot. Equally important is whether soil moisture at seed depth is spatially uniformly acceptable because uneven moisture at seed depth will cause uneven germination and subsequent emergence of the crop. https://www.agry.purdue.edu/ext/corn/news/timeless/SoilMoistSeedDepth.html

Q – Should I add 28% UAN to glyphosate when burning down my cereal rye?

Answer – You can, but I doubt at this time of year it would add much benefit other than making the sprayer sticky. There are growers who will add 28% UAN when the weeds have a hardened cuticle, but time is likely at least 6 weeks away. A common practice is to add liquid ammonium sulphate to the sprayer tank, prior to adding glyphosate, to prevent glyphosate tie up by cations like calcium and magnesium. Dr. Sikkema has presented data in the past that it is usually just as cost effective to increase the glyphosate rate in some of those situations.

How to do a Jar test…

Unfournately not all tank-mixes can be tested when it comes to checking out various micronutrient/fungicide/herbicide/PGR combinations. In some situations, it may mean observing a proper tank mix order. Here is great article on Sprayers101.com on how to do a jar test prior to making porridge in your sprayer…

https://sprayers101.com/loading-jartest/

https://ppp.purdue.edu/wp-content/uploads/files/PPP-122.pdf

https://sprayers101.com/tankmix/

What I do is divide the total mix by 60, and then end up with the following for a jar test in a 2 L mason jar. Read the loading Jar Test article to understand what to look for when it comes to combability.

Manganese Deficiency and How to Correct it.

A few options on the market to correct it. One is to use Manganese Sulphate (dry) and a sticker spreader with water, the other is formulated chelates. Based on notes from a SGS -Agri-food bulletin.

To convert soil application recommendations to foliar rates, divide by 8. A 2-pound MnSo4 recommendation becomes of 0.25 pounds of inorganic chelate (125 grams/acre). Most literature states 2 pounds per acre of Mn from Manganese sulphate plus a sticker spreader. If using a chelated (EDTA, DPTA, etc.) product, the optimal rate is 0.1 to 0.2 lb. Mn/acre depending on severity of the deficiency. Both methods are effective in addressing deficiency.

Timing of correcting these symptoms is critical to achieve maximum yield response, James Camberato of Purdue (formerly Clemson) reports that if you delay treating by 2 weeks, 90% response is realized, 6 weeks, 70% response compared to treating right away.

Two reasons fields get Manganese Deficiency (plus 1 more).

1.     Weather induced (temporal variability), which would cover off years like this where we are seeing on soil types that normally would not show visual symptoms.

2.     Soil type induced, where you have high organic matter soils like muck or peat, and although there are plenty of soil supplies, it is tied up.

3.     High pH soils. In some parts of the world, they use a starter fertilizer that lowers pH to make Mn more available.

If you are just seeing now as you are driving around, and feel it is getting worse in some pockets of the field. It likely is. The best areas of the field continue to grow and move forward, with the Mn deficiency areas going backwards, and the contrast becomes more and more apparent as time goes on.

You could have Mn deficiency in a few fields on both knolls and the muck areas, but these are for two very different reasons. The knolls are getting it because of dry soil conditions, the lower lying black muck is showing Mn deficiency due to high OM soil type tie up.

Q - Is it Sulphur or Mn Deficiency I am seeing in the lower lying areas of my fields?

A- If you have already applied sulphur, and it is a lower lying area (typically those areas have high Sulphur levels), it is likely Mn deficiency.

Question - Will I have to spray more than once to correct Mn deficiency?

Answer – Yes, if the conditions continue causing the deficiency, you will have to spray again as you get new growth, as Mn is NOT mobile within the plant.

Question – What is the yield response to foliar applying Mn deficiency?

Answer – This is hard to quantify because the symptoms and defiency is so spotty over the field to try and run trials. If you can visually see it holding the plant back, it will be significant.

Best Crop Nutrient ID app?

My favourite one to use is Yara’s Checkit app. You can access it here for both Apple and Android devices… If you put the United States as your country and not Canada, you get a wider crop mix to work with.

‎Yara CheckIT on the App Store

‎Read reviews, compare customer ratings, see screenshots, and learn more about Yara CheckIT. Download Yara CheckIT and enjoy it on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

Yara CheckIT - Apps on Google Play

Identification of plant deficiencies.

Low hanging fruit in fine tuning Corn Production

1.     Seeding depth – Plant to moisture or a minimum of 1.75” deep.

2.     Plant population – Check seed guide or with your seed rep to plant to optimal final plant stand. To do this you need to know your seed mortality. If 10% seed mortality, you need to drop about 39 K/ac seeds to get 36 K/ac final population.

3.     Soil temperature – Is not as critical as fit conditions, although some research suggests planting in front of a cold front with rain can cause seed imbibition/chilling (cork screwing), leading to lower plant stands.

4.     Proper seed size – If running a plate style air planter, ensure the seed size matches the plate.

5.     Proper tillage depth/planting to moisture – do not work the soil below the intended planting depth. Working soil below your planting depth causes issues with seed germination, as you are now planting into dry soil with limited capillary action.

6.     Weed control – no weeds should be present from 1-3 leaf. Use a burndown if winter annuals/biennials/perennials are present prior to spring tillage, pre-emerge residual herbicide for annual grasses and broadleaves.

7.     Starter Fertilizer – do a test run to ensure dry fertilizer augers are put in the boxes the right way. No plugged orifices or screens on liquid fertilizer setups.

Q – I am unable to get the fluroxypyr co-pack/formulated herbicide of choice? What is the difference between these products again?

Group 27 Corn Herbicides

Group 27 herbicides in corn all have a similar mode of action, they prevent pigmentation and new chlorophyl production in plants (which is why they are referred to bleachers, weeds turn white). But each molecule works on various weeds in a different manner. Some have knock-down only, some are a residual product, some are both. Some have grass activity; some are only a broadleaf product. Here is a summary.

Q – I run a coulter cart in front of my drill, how deep should I be running it?

A – You do not want to dry out the seed bed when drilling or planting behind the last pass of tillage. The last tillage pass (even if it is on the front of the drill) should be ¼ to ½” ABOVE the intended planting or seeding depth.

Risk management means taking calculated risk.

When it comes to trying new farming practices or products, you should try and quantify what the worst-case scenario is. That is the downside. Now, what is the upside? Put a range on it. Some spitball values. What are the expected ranges of outcomes? Risk management means not doing things that will kill your business. It does not mean taking no risk. Is there more opportunity to get to your goals with this new practice or product? If so, go and do it!

“The two most important things in any company do not appear in its balance sheet: its reputation and its people.”

– Henry Ford